NY Islanders 7thWoman
Unique Perspectives from behind the scenes and on the fringe of Islanders Hockey and the NHL

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

My PROSCAN Tablet Nightmare

I can't write another word this morning about the Isles loss. I just can't. So how about I use this space for a public service announcement?

DON'T BUY A PROSCAN 7" TABLET.
Curtis International LTD, a Canadian company no less, is distributing these low-end android tablets under the name PROSCAN. I saw an ad before Christmas that PC Richards was having a sale on them for the low price of only $60.
Now, you know me, I don't like to spend money I don't have so that is why I do not have an "i" anything and my phone is Amish. So when my husband was harrassing me about buying me a Christmas gift OTHER than the Shark pocket steam mop that I wanted, I found the ad and said, "I'll try a tablet and see if I like it."
He ordered it on Black Friday and held it until Christmas. Christmas morning came and there was the box with the 7" black glass challenge inside. I charged it overnight as it said, and read the instruction manual. That in itself was a challenge. The English was so poor that some of the instructions were impossible to decipher, even for my high-tech 18-year-old. We laughed at the manual and it's poorly formulated instructions.
The next day I actually managed to set the date and time properly and get onto the web. It was fast but difficult to type on. I stumbled on the "speak it" feature which I fought with trying to blog or Tweet.
But... I was still learning. The tablet came with an icon for GoogleStore for downloads, the only problem was that GoogleStore itself DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS PARTICULAR TABLET. So I am guessing the software goes with one of their other higher end products. I tried in vain to download anything, including AVG virus software for tablets. Nothing worked, so I said screw it, I'll just use it to read. I did that for two more weeks and then it just stopped turning on.
Wait, not really, it would turn on, flash it's name and "android" across that sleek screen and promptly shut off. I called the tech support number and spoke with someone regarding the problem who gave me a series of steps to take. Push in the reset hole, charge it for six hours, hold down the start button for ten seconds, wave it over your head five times - etc.
"That should work to put it back to it's factory settings." I tried it, five times. It never started up again. I called Sri-Lanka AGAIN and spoke with a different tech. He told me it needed to be repaired. Put it back in the box and let him charge my credit card $7 and send it to Curtis International in Vernon Hills, IL, and they would either fix or replace it in a few weeks.
Okay, not too bad as I didn't just want to bring it back to PC Richards because it already had my passwords stored on it, and since I couldn't reset it, I was afraid they'd just resell it. When I told the tech on the phone that I was afraid of someone getting my passwords, he assured me that the tablet would be wiped out upon arrival and fixed. I boxed it up and sent it via fed ex to the US address they gave me.
A few weeks later it arrived back. I was very excited to open the box and see if they had fixed it or if there was another one in the box. It wasn't mine as the serial number was different. Okay, so they replaced it. Not so bad. There were different icons on the screen this time when I started it up and one had a big red star on it. I looked in the poorly written manual and couldn't find anything that looked like that. But I couldn't keep the tablet turned on as it said it had only 1% battery life.

I plugged in the charger and noticed it wasn't going into the slot all the way. Hmmmm... I wiggled it and saw that the charge light was on and left it alone for the day. When I returned, it had not charged. It actually refused to charge no matter what I did. The brief moment that I actually got it running I clicked on the big red star which said "Web Connection Cannot be made."
Huh? Yep. There was something wrong with the wifi connection on this tablet because even sitting in front of my wireless router, it saw it, but refused to connect to it. Basically Curtis International took the $7.12 (with the Canadian exchange increase) and my non-working tablet and replaced it with someone elses non-working tablet.
I was pissed as hell. So I called their tech line AGAIN and spoke to yet someone else in some far off land and expressed my disatisfaction. As it was a Sunday, they told me that someone would get back to me tomorrow (Monday) regarding the problem and gave me a case number.
NO ONE EVER CALLED ME BACK. NO ONE.
I decided to call PC Richards and explain my plight. They apologized repeatedly and sent me a return UPS label via email and said my charge card would be credited upon arrival.
It was. No questions asked, although I did put a lengthly letter in the box with my problems that I had with PROSCAN and CURTIS INTERNATIONAL. NOTE TO CONSUMERS: There is a reason that Big Lots and others can sell these things cheap -- THEY DON'T WORK.
In other news, my Shark Steam pocket mop works amazing!

You're welcome! I don't know why they are even selling these things if they are not going to actually FIX them properly. I know it's cheap, but seriously, take $60 and throw it in the toilet. Same thing.

I had to give up on sub $100 Android Tablets because of these issues... thankfully companies like Dell and Asus are making more reasonably priced tablets that work without isues.. check out the Asus MemoPad 7inch tablets.. they cost around $110 but you shouldn't have any heartache with them. Customer service should mile sand above better with them as well

I don't know about anyone else but the Proscan I bought has let me download virtually anything from the Google Play store. I was even able to get Kindle for Android products from Amazon for my e-books.I have had mine about a year. I will admit it was charging fine and then kept telling me to plug in the charger. I feel like either the battery or the slot for the charger has went bad. It also has some wriggle room when the pin on the charger is inserted. So this may the culprit as the slot used to hold the pin from the charger tightly. The Proscan will come on for a few seconds so I don't suspect the battery. Anyone have any suggestions?

Yes, my suggestion is send it back and buy something else. This tablet will not work for very long. The fact you got it to download anything is pretty remarkable. Then again, maybe you purchased a better model. I just think they are not made well at all. Happy HOlidays!

on December 3th I bought a proscan tablet, about 2 weeks now it kept saying Android is upgrading and wont connect to wifi and running the battery down, I call customer service and the same old thing poke a pin in the reset hole and charge for 2 hrs nothing happen, I don't understand why people take pleasure is advantaging the weak, we can only afford what we buy but we should be treated with respect for the money spent.unsatisfied customer.

My mom purchased one of these tablets for my nephew for Christmas...it was a black Friday sales. At first, it seemed like a really good tablet. I downloaded all kinds of games for him from the amazon app store and they all worked well. After a couple weeks, it started to act weird! When you touch the screen, its like it can't sense it! Sometimes it takes an hour to unlock the screen or turn it off! Idk what to think or do after reading the blog!

Yeah, I'm going to! I thought something was weird anyway, when I tried to read the user guide and, like you, could barely understand the English! This company should be shut down! Thanks for the helpful blog! If I hadn't have read it, I would have never known about all the same problems with other customers!

Curtis International produces many products and are located in Canada. I'm sure they produce other higher end products that work fine. But they should discontinue the cheaper line that causes nothing but grief. My husband yelled at me "You get what you pay for." Yeah, but companies shouldn't be ripping people off and get away with it either.

Curtis International produces many products and are located in Canada. I'm sure they produce other higher end products that work fine. But they should discontinue the cheaper line that causes nothing but grief. My husband yelled at me "You get what you pay for." Yeah, but companies shouldn't be ripping people off and get away with it either.

Yep! Contact the place you purchased it and also contact CURTIS INTERNATIONAL. These people have to be held accountable. Maybe if they hear from EVERYONE who has a problem with these units, they will discontinue manufacturing at that plant!

I sent my 7" tablet to the IL office over a month ago and still have not heard from them----same battery issue as others on here have had. But they no longer list their IL office on the website--I hope they didn't shut it down and leave my tablet there!

Melody -- send it back. Either send it back to the place you purchased it or to the manufacturer. If you charged it, contact your credit card company and ask for a charge back if where ever you bought it gives you a hard time. Many of these models just do not work.

I received my 7" Proscan Tablet as a birthday gift. The manual was a joke. I have had trouble downloading certain apps but my issue was when I found an app I thoroughly enjoyed and wanted to purchase currency for it, suddenly my tablet pops up "Your device is not compatible with in app purchases" wth? I didn't put up a purchase blocker!? Try a different app, same issue. Try to download a paid app, same issue. I call tech support and speak with someone with very poor english at best, he tells me that I should connect my tablet to a desktop computer and purchase it from there... But does not know how I can perform this task!? Seriously!? I argued for about 10 min with this man trying to get him to understand the issue at hand, which is not complicated. I want to buy apps and buy currency in those games to progress with them. Very simple. After reading this blog, I'm beginning to think I'm better off saving up for a kindle etc rather than settle for the ridiculous tech support, awful keypad and circular answers from the company. Thanks for the heads up about this tablet. Very much appreciated.

Call Curtis Int'l directly and complain. 800-968-9853. I would seriously like these tablets taken off the north American market. They are a consumer nightmare! Tell them to fix the problem or take back the item.

Am waiting for my wife's to return. Every call you can just give them the RMA # they gave you, they want the tracking # from which it was sent. Probably so if don't have it they can say they didn't get it. If you go to Proscan's warranty page, the company name is Curtco Intl. Haha, must've had to change their name because the web search engine's were full of complaints about Curtis Intl.

Also, after "escalating" our return twice, they wanted me to give them all the shipping information and email address they required on their RMA form. They're replacing hers, but that takes another 6-8 days to get through their system before it ships. Horrible, horrible company.

I am so glad this has taken on a life of it's own. Consumers need to know that this product is garbage and should not be sold or purchased. You get what you pay for and when you pay $49 for a tablet, you get a scam deal that doesn't work. Thanks for commenting Mike.

7th Woman, I salute you for all you have done to make people aware of these sub-par products they call Proscan. By the way, I live in Canada and I can assure you these are not manufactured by Canadians. CheersDoug

I am going to put together a class action lawsuit against Curtis International. If anybody else wishes to join me please contact me at Justin.Guillaume@gmail.com

I have bought a brand new TV from proscan and it caught on fire in my home! There was a baby upstairs just above the TV! If you wish to contact corporate directly, (Since they had their information) here it is:

This is my husband's doings. Having the same problem with this company. Gone as far as filing with BBB in Canada and they're going behind my back with the bull. Need to know is there anyone out here that can tell me if there's a local office of Curtis International in the states where I can file a suit against them? I'm in Louisiana

Good morning. That is an excellent question. but I think because they are an "international company" and all parts seem to be coming from Korea and elsewhere, we in the states are going to have a hard way to go. Perhaps our best route is to contact the places we purchase these products and insist they stop selling them. The National retailers should know the problems we consumers are having -- and getting no restitution for. That would mean that it looks bad for the retailer more than the manufacterer.

I bought my son a Proscan 10.1 for Christmas and it didn't even work for a week. It intermittently charges and it won't download any apps from the play store anymore. This is the first year where I could afford to give my kids a good Christmas and I have to cuss out Tiger Direct because my kids gifts are crap. I am getting them Asus tablets, screw this.

I bought a Proscan at Big Lots in Hollywood, Florida. Doesn't work. Don't have receipt and I thought I was going to be OK because I called my Internet carrier Comacast and it seemed like all I would need to do would be to fully charge it, then put in my Comcast code, and I'd be set. I procrastinated because I'd get frustrated & have a laptop so I didn't really HAVE to have a tablet...but now I am going to have surgery & the hospital I am going to has a computer in each private room but it is v. difficult to use. It comes on an arm from the wall & is above your head. But you have to hunt and peck (in my case w/ only one arm after surgery) so it is a killer to use. I was really hoping to use this tablet. I am on a fixed (very low) income since my life savings was embezzeled in 2011. I can't just go buy a new one, a proper one, not a Proscan & I like the other readers here didn't do any research on the co. before I bought it. I guess there is no use trying to mail it back to the maker without a receipt, is there? And I don't want a replacement one like the lady got which was as bad or worse than the one she returned. Good luck to all you others who are as disappointed as I am...I feel rotten. Take care & may we all have learned a lesson from this. (Keep receipts--that I usually do actually--, do a bit of reseach before you buy, and avoid stores like Big Lots unless you know what you are buying.Ms. Johnnie Wess, Hollywood, FL

I bought a Proscan 7" tablet & can't find the receipt. I bought it at Big Lots which has a 15 day limit on electronics returns and that has long passed any way. Now I am going to have surgery & would love to have it in the hospital w/ me. I am below the poverty level income wise after being robbed of my life savings. The criminal was convicted, sentenced, & I assume is serving but for my live savings I got only $2000. as I was afraid to go to court because the convict had "friends" still out. I am elderly & was told I would only get c. $4K of what she had taken, not even 1% of what I lost I guess. Didn't seem worth it. But I am glad at least to know now, look before you leap. I didn't even know sites like this existed. It has been a real eye opener even at my age. I thought I had seen it all. Thanks to all of you for putting this out there...miserly loves company, at least in my case. Thanks again.Ms. Johnnie Wess, Hollywood, Florida

Ms. West:I'm so sorry to hear of your plight. God bless and keep you. However, Look here in the comments and call the number for Curtis International and complain. You know that saying about the squeaky wheel. Tell them you are going to call your local cable news company who is always happy to come to the aid of those who have been ripped off. And Proscan is a rip-off. Good luck and good health.

I was ripped off by Proscan as well. Christmas of 2013 they went on sale for $60 , We bought 3 tablets for our children from Walmart.com . ALL THREE stopped working in 2 weeks. Would not power on. I tried to return to Walmart but Walmart said we only had 15 days to return electronics. I wrote corporate and I wrote Proscan .. I got no response from Proscan and Walmart told me too bad, even though I explained that the product was defective and the company was unreachable. I still have all 3 tablets just sitting here.

Im so sorry My husband didn't read all your comments before purchased this Proscan table for Christmas.It was a nightmare from day oneI can't download any app because said memory full even when l have 32 GB completely empty in the table.Crome is the only app l can use because l can update due to low spare in memory all others apps stopped working.Resolution is really bad and l can't even what a movie because take me out of the website so many times that l just decided stop trying.I can make it read the SD memory card so l took it to Pacific Mall were all Chinese repair tablet cellphones and I went to about 10 to 12 repair stores they all said can't do anything about moving the apps to memory or making all app storage in memory by default.Now just like if all of that wasn't bad enough the screen crached again went to the experts and again they said can't fix it One was brave enough to said he has a Proscan table there and he haven't found a innocent to sale it toResume. Please do not but this product because you will lost your money.After suffering trying to make this piece of garbage work l called customers service and they play me turn it onTour. It offDo so do so and nothing work, also took it to a repair place in Pickering and the guy didn't find any inf even on line to know how to make SD card storage apps I tried all because it was a Christmas gift but I'm done with it.PROSCAN SUCKS!!!!!